Three Bermuda College students paid tribute through their art last night, to their friend who died in a motorcycle accident last month.

Linda Pacheco, 19, Stephanie Oliviera, 19 and Melinda Saraiva, 18 started working on their tribute to Miguel Franco a week after is death from a road accident.

Melinda said it was the only way she could express her thoughts and feelings about the 17-year-old who banter with her about their favourite football team — Benfica.

She said: "The week of his death I had the idea I wanted to do something through drawing and we all take Art and Design so we are all in the same room.

"We started talking about the end of the year art show and our teacher Mr. Smith said why not do a whole installment.

"My drawing took two weeks and Stephanie's only took three days. But in Linda's Miguel took forever.

"She said he must have been playing around with her, you know that's not my nose."

The Bermuda Society of Arts (BSoA) was the site of the emotional installment, that brought tears to the eyes of Miguel's sister Candida Madeiros and cousin Daniella Frias.

Laid on the floor was the sheet signed by his friends during the football match held in his honour the week after his death.

Representing the bike and helmet, he used to clean every night before going to be, was a black helmet on a stand with the scarf of his favourite team, Benfica dropped more than.

Linda said they could never understand what the family went through, but the installment, which they will donate to the family, was their way to do something.

She said: "It's our way of giving back to his family. To say thank you to his family for bringing him into our lives He touched our lives. It's always feel you can't really hard basically to know what the family is going through. The items each are picked to represent him."

Miguel's sister said she was overwhelmed by what the girls had done and was so thankful to have something to remember her brother.

She said: "This is absolutely amazing. It's able to capture a lot of what he was about — his country, his family, his football and his bike.

"We are so proud they are able to let his life carry on like this. It's more than we expected."

Miguel, of Paget, suffered fatal head and internal injuries after the motorcycle on which he was a passenger collided with a truck and car in Middle Road, Warwick, on February 29.

The teenager, an International Baccalaureate student at Warwick Academy, died in the early hours of March 2, but he has not been forgotten.

A few days later former classmates and friends dedicated a motorcycle parking space to him and week later a football match at Whitney High School was held in his honour.

Miguel was the son of Angelo and Isabel Franco of Astwood Road, Paget and brother to Paul, sister to Candida, and girlfriend, 17-year-old Julia Furtado.

Yesterday, his cousin and best friend Daniella said the rest of the family would probably visit the installment later when not so many people were visiting BSoA.

As tears welled in her eyes she described her friend, who she called 'cuzzy wuzzy' as a proud Portuguese man and a dedicated fisherman.

She said: "It brings back memories of us playing football. I just wish I had more time with him. I feel like I am going to see him driving up to my house.

"We used to talk about everything. I had my secrets and I had his.

"He was like another brother to me. He was a big fisher and he used to go fishing with his brother.

"He always followed in his brother's footsteps. I actually though he was going to make it. Those couple of days I had faith. I had the football scarf of his favourite team and a bear. I left them at the cemetery."